10 Reasons Your Electricity Bill Is So High
You’ve received another power bill and almost fell off the chair. You’ve will get electricity bill shock from a lot of electricity usage over the past couple of months (even Billy Explores loves the air-con!)
There’s plenty of reasons why your electricity bill could be so high, and we’ve detailed 10 potential reasons why below. It’s easy to complain about energy prices, but the truth is most Aussie households could be doing a lot more to minimise the impact of rising prices. So don’t forget to see energy saving tips and make sure you’re aware of your household energy plan!
1. Did You Pay Your Electricity Bill Late?
This is a doozey that most people forget when they’re looking to reduce their electricity bill! Most energy providers will add a late fee onto your power bill for late payment of the electricity bill. So, this is also an energy saving tip, many energy providers will offer discounts for prompt payment. So next time pay your power bill on time, and the total amount will reduce!
2. Have You Been Cranking The Heating and Cooling?
Most important energy saving tip to reduce your electricity usage and help reduce your electricity bill (especially at this time of year) is heating and cooling. Did you know that heating and cooling account for over a third of the average Aussie household’s electricity usage? If you’ve been
Here’s s a few energy saving tips to get the most out of your heating and cooling to help reduce your electricity bill.
3. You’ve Been Using More Electricity At Peak Times
With energy providers normally having peak rates on household energy plans, this is another reason your electricity bill may have been so high. Your electricity usage has been more during these peak periods than you’ve done previously, so naturally with energy providers having these peak rates on energy your bill has skyrocketed. See some energy saving tips what you can do to reduce this peak usage here.
4. Have You Kept Your Appliances On Standby?
While it only accounts for around 3% of energy use, the standby mode on home appliances is a good place to shave a few dollars from your electricity bill. Just because it’s only a small part of your bill doesn’t mean you can’t make some savings and reduce your electricity bill. We’re talking about microwaves, stereos, televisions and other entertainment devices, computers, and even laptops on standby if you’ve got them plugged in. There’s no benefit to leaving them on except being able to turn them on again from the couch. Turn them off at the wall and save some money!
5. You Keep Lights and Appliances On All The Time
Remember how our parents would nag us to turn lights off and appliances around the house. Some of us are now doing it to our own kids, and there’s a good reason. Quite simply, leaving lights and appliances on wastes power and leads to increased electricity usage! Lighting can be responsible for around 10% of your electricity bill, so to reduce your electricity if you’re not in a room, take our energy saving tips and turn the lights and TV etc off.
Aside from turning the lights off, investing in energy-efficient light globes is a great idea. They’re slightly more expensive but they last way longer and use less energy than the cheaper globes. Another great energy tip to minimise electricity usage!
6. You have Power Hungry Appliances
You haven’t checked out your appliance energy ratings recently, and have power hungry appliances (those that use more energy than normal) Whenever you’re in the market for a new appliance, be sure to check the energy rating. Those ratings aren’t all about how good they are for the environment – they’re also an indication of how efficient they’re going to be in your home. Most people keep larger appliances for a number of years, so make sure they’re as energy efficient as possible. The small savings on the purchase price will mean nothing in the long run if they chew through excessive power every time you use them.
Also, another great energy tips is to maximise your home energy rate, and not use these appliances at peak times and be hit with peak rates on energy. You just need to be aware of your peak and off-peak rates.
7. You’ve Used The Dryer More In Wet Weather
Laundry appliances like the washing machine and dryer are big offenders when considering electricity usage. With so much wet weather in Australia recently, you may have used your dryer four to five times more often than previously, just to make sure they’re dry! This of course will be reflected in your electricity bill.
As far as washing goes, make sure you have a full load of dirty clothes to avoid unnecessary wash cycles and do it in cold water to save on the water heating costs at the same time.
Finally, try to use these appliances at non-peak times to save on peak rates on energy. Check out your household energy plan, this information should be on there.
8. You’ve Started Working Full-time From Home
This is a reason most people forget about! Obviously if you’re going to be sitting in your house using electricity for 40-48 hours with radio, TV, lighting etc going rather than in an office, your electricity usage will drastically increase. Previously, your house would have sat almost vacant, with just appliances on stand-by. This can have a massive impact on your electricity bill if you compare your previous electricity usage.
9. Your Household Energy Plan Doesn’t Suit Your Lifestyle
You’ve been with the same energy provider for years and haven’t check in on your household energy plan and your home energy rates for ages. Since you joined your energy provider, you might have started your family, started working full-time from home or taken on a new hobby which needs constant electricity usage.
Supplier rates can also be different too if you’ve recently moved interstate so that could also result in an increased electric bill.
It does give you an opportunity to compare your energy plan and retailer though! Stop by our energy compare page to see if you haven’t found a better deal.
10. You Haven’t Found a Better Energy Deal
Of course, the primary reason your electricity bill is so high is you haven’t compared and looked for a better deal on your electricity rates! Compare your home energy rate and see if you can get a better deal on your household energy plan!
For this one, you don’t even need to do anything, because Billy Explores has everything sorted for you. Stop by our energy compare page and let us give you all the information you need to potentially get a cheaper deal on your gas and electricity from our panel of providers.
You’ll also find plenty of other energy saving articles to go with these top ten energy saving tips here at Billy Explores. And it’s all free!
